Perhaps nowhere else in the Poconos is a good snowfall more cherished than on our ski mountains. This week's snow was welcomed with open arms and waxed skis.

On Alpine Mountain, the snow was doubly appreciated. New owners just took over and this is their first year running the mountain.

"This week is going OK," said Brian Hewlings, office manager at Alpine Mountain. "It's always good when we get natural snow and it's starting to get really good here. We have a lot of improvements planned for the season so a good Christmas week is exciting."

A half hour from there, Megan McHugh said the fresh snow created quite a buzz at Camelback.

"We loved the eight inches of fresh powder last night and the two fresh inches again this morning," said McHugh, director of Sales & Marketing & Public Relations at the mountain.

"Now that Mother Nature has answered our call with cold temperatures and some fresh snow, our winter season is taking off. Although it was a slow start, we are making snow every chance possible and adding more trails as soon as they are ready," she said.

Three inches of fresh snow fell on Blue Mountain in Carbon County on Wednesday.

That is golden white stuff for Heidi Lutz, director of sales and marketing.

"That's a great amount because people are still able to get here and enjoy the mountain and they see white stuff on the their lawns which gets them excited about skiing and snowboarding," she said. "We are excited. We couldn't be happier about reopening."

At Shawnee Mountain, manager Jim Tust is optimistic about the ski season.

"The new snow this week is a good thing," he said. "And probably more importantly we are looking at a good cold forecast for what looks like round-the-clock snow making."

Tust noticed a thinner crowd Thursday and thinks a wrecked tractor-trailer on Interstate 80 westbound was to blame. A ruptured gas tank on the truck near the Pennsylvania line led to one or both westbound lanes of I-80 being closed all day. That created traffic jams that made it harder to drive into Pennsylvania than to ski down a double black diamond trail.

"We are still bullish on the season and looking forward to a really good year," he said.